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147
Joined
4/21/2018
Location
NO
Edited Date/Time
8/17/2021 1:59pm
Since I am considering a new bike(b/c i went too long and slack) I came across a thread here from 2017 where Spoomer but forward this question. Now that 29er have become really good and sort of the norm for enduro and the one-bike kind of setup.
What does this landscape look like today? Anyone going back to smaller bikes? Reach and or wheels?
I am kind of leaning towards a shorter bike with smaller wheels, something like the GG Megatrail or a Starling Swoop.
I live in remote Norway and dont really have any chance of demoing bikes. So input i Vital!
What does this landscape look like today? Anyone going back to smaller bikes? Reach and or wheels?
I am kind of leaning towards a shorter bike with smaller wheels, something like the GG Megatrail or a Starling Swoop.
I live in remote Norway and dont really have any chance of demoing bikes. So input i Vital!
Caveat - they were all ebikes and my current enduro and hardtail are slack 29. The 27s felt fun, but also less planted.
To answer directly : no, if I'd to buy a new bike the reach would be the same. It'll be maybe a touch slacker. And I'll stick with 29" wheels or maybe mullet (I touch the rear wheel from time to time with my butt. That's annoying.).
So now I mostly ride my mullet ebike, but would go for a full 29er option if stocks and prices were reasonable which they are not. Undeniable that there is extra grip with the 29er wheel, but admitedly harder to find bikes with shortish chainstays to keep the bike fun.
Note that I am a racer, but ride in a very playful manner (constant bunny hops, nose turns, weird lines), never had any issue with 29ers not feeling fun, but I am careful to pick bikes with a geometry that suits me (not gigantic reach, medium chainstays ~440mm).
There was a full on enduro fad within my riding group few years back but now fun is back in fashion
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Today marks the end of Rocket sales. Our original droplink bike, launched with 26" wheels and 150mm travel in 2012 to much acclaim, morphed through four generations to grow 27.5" wheels, pioneer Longshot geometry, and into the current 165mm travel beast.
We know there are lots of you out there who love your 27.5" wheels. We do too, but as with any business sometimes market forces and commercial reality to have to make a decision for you, and that's what has happend here. Whilst we have sold many hundreds of our 29er droplink models in the last two years, since the end of 2018, 27.5" droplink bike sales have been a fraction of this.
Even with the current Gen4 UK made frame, as we still get our rear ends for these frames made in Taiwan, there are certain minimum order quantities we have to meet. Unfortunately it got to the point where we were selling less than a full batch of rear ends per year, so at that point we have to stop.
It's been quite a ride, but realistically you guys have spoken, and you are choosing 29" wheels for your bike much more often than not.
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email continues, but above was the relevant bit for this forum topic
The other change in geometry metrics I'm pushing within the industry is dynamic geometry. It's too complicated to publish in a simple geometry chart, but expect to see more discussion of it in the next few years. For consumers, an ideal tool will be for manufacturers to have a "slope slider" tool on a geometry chart that allows users to choose the slope of the terrain and generate a chart for the time-averaged geometry at that inclination.
EDIT: I should expand on my point: Since bikes with smaller wheels often have a little more travel, they suffer from slightly more change in dynamic geometry. It's not huge, but if we can feel a few percent difference in wheel size, we can also feel a half-degree more steepening and slackening of the angles due to differences in chassis pitch from the difference in travel. That's not a direct result from differences in wheel size, but it's a common result of how the bikes are designed (ex. equivalent models with 27.5" wheels and 29" wheels may have 170 mm and 160 mm of travel, respectively).
Anyway, back to the wheel size debate ...
Had the Orbea for a year but sold it this year and recently replaced with a 2021 SC Hightower V2 (29", 473 reach) that feels so much better. It just corners amazingly compared to the barge feeling of the Orbea, and that's a bike that's praised for it's cornering ability so I blame the size. It did feel awesome in high speed open stuff, but I rarely get to ride that sort of terrain in the south of Sweden..
I also have a 2020 Scott Gambler with wagon wheels. I did try a few dh runs with a mullet setup on that bike, but really didn't like it in techy DH at least. I didn't change anything but the wheel size though, could possibly have been better with changing the flip chip for corrected geo, but the smaller wheel felt like it kicked me around a lot more and had a lot less traction. I have a set of 27.5 DT EX511 rims I've been meaning to build up as a spare wheelset for the Gambler for park laps and jump lines, but after riding the 29er in jump trails I'm not sure it's necessary as I can whip the wagon wheels good enough..
I'm currently on a Banshee Spitfire v3 27.5 and its an absolute riot in the PNW. I have a 30mm rim with 2.5 WT DHF Grip EXO up front, 25mm rim with 2.4 non-WT Hi Roller 2 Terra EXO in back, 150 Pike Ult with 37mm offset and a 50mm stem. I'm a smig over 6 ft and on a large (470mm reach). I can and have ridden longer, but I struggled to weight the front wheel in anything but fast straight lines. Bike is in the low geo position (65 HA, 437mm CS). It has near infinite front end grip, but I can comfortably flick the rear into a bit of oversteer when I ask for it. It feels so connected and intuitive to ride. But its not going to be the safe, stable feel that a lot of riders seem to want these days. It will move around, but when you understand that, you can actually use it to get through tight corners faster. I like a lively, playful bike (different than poppy mind you) that makes me feel like I'm the rider not a passenger. So far its been a great fit. Its still fun on smoother/easier trails but has impressive depth of grip and control when I push it into 'big bike' terrain. Its also been great to ride alloy again: feels very forgiving, I don't care as much about scratching it, and if it ever cracks I can recycle it.
Downsides is that when compared with the 29, it requires a little more effort to get rolling as there is more rolling resistance there and if you lean hard into a corner with lower pressures, you can get a little squidgy from sidewall flex but I have learned to deal with that by approaching the corner a little differently. The only other downside is tire options. In my size, there arent too many. The ones that are available are quite good so it is not THAT much of a downside.
The bike is a 2018 Devinci Marshall carbon.
On the DH bike, that 29" rear wheel eats my ass up when I try to tweak around and have fun.
Both riders rip their respective size bike.
What I took away from it was, yes the 29 definitely felt a lot more controlled, planted and stable especially at speed, it also felt a bit more consistent, there was absolutely no denying it.
That said, I'm pretty short, suffered a bit too much ass buzzing for my liking and I felt I lost too much nimbleness, playfulness and "feel", and when it comes down to it I'm just out there for a bit of fun and I whilst technically the 29 is probably "better", I think this time round the balance for me was more towards the fun side.
If I was racing then I would likely have made a very different decision.
I feel the jump from 26 to 27.5 was bigger for me than that of 27.5 to 29. I've yet to commit fully to a 29" setup, but it is only a matter of time I guess. I'm comfortable with my choice of 27.5 for this bike though. I will revisit the same question in a couple of years time.
7 years on various 29'ers (Fuel EX "LT", Slash, Sentinel, Foxy) and now on a Scout Carbon.
Friends riding behind me says I'm way more playful on the bike now, but I do miss the confidence 29er give you going mach 10 into rockgardens etc. Flicking the 27,5 through corners and tight sections are way easier.
But 27,5 with the right geo is insanely fun
Post a reply to: Re: Spoomer ca 2017. Anyone gone from 29er back to 27.5?